Circles of Time
by Mort Confed
Summary: An Interstellar Alliance battlegroup on patrol in the Tirrith system suddenly arrives in the Solar system...but it is not their time...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: As you well know, I do not own B5. As I do not own B5, nothing below is canon, and anyone trying to use it as such...well, they'll be re-admitted back to the asylum sooner or later.

Okay, now thats over and done with, to the story!

* * *

Date: 21st March 2275

Place: Tirrith system, part of the Interstellar Alliance

"...so it looks like we finally nailed the raiders here," the Earth Alliance lieutenant reported

"Well, thats good," Captain Confed replied, "I'd expected the raiders to be tougher than that"

"Why?" the lieutenant, an experienced EF officer by the name of Wearing, asked

"Well, the raiders I've run into over the years tend to be a bit stubborn, thats all. Oh, well, at least it gives us time to run a couple of wargames with our Abbai and Hyach friends, at least"

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant jotted down something on his datapad, then looked up "What are you thinking of, sir?"

"Well, I was thinking that we haven't exactly tested the effectiveness of the new ISA combined race tactics against Drakh defensive tactics"

"Thats good" mused Wearing "it might give the brains back at ISA HQ some extra new information, especially on the Warlock-Beta"

Confed nodded again. For some reason he, a commander of a Hyperion-Theta heavy cruiser, had been picked to command one of the newest Earth Alliance vessels. Ever since the cure to the Drakh plague had been found, the EA had been experimenting with the gravitic technology given to them by the ISA. And, with Abbai, Brakiri and Hyach assistance, they'd built an even better version of the Warlock. Hyach miniaturisation techniques had been able to shrink the heavy laser/pulse array into something approximately fitting onto the places previously occupied by the medium array. Gravitic engines had also been fitted, vastly improving the turning ability and minimising the apparently narrow firing arcs of the improved heavy particle cannons, and a weak gravitic shield--only two thirds the strength of an Abbai Lakara, but still powerful enough to give an enemy pause--had been installed. All of that for the secrets of interceptor technology (for the Hyach) and the installation of gatling pulse cannons (for the Brakiri and Abbai)!

"Well, lets get it sorted out" Confed told the lieutenant "I want us to start deploying Drakh-style combat models, and I also want a pre-simulation briefing a day before the simulation proper"

* * *

Date: 27th March

Place: Outskirts of Tirrith system

"Well, we're here" the Abbai officer in command of one of the Lakaras said "What exactly is our 'mission' supposed to be?" Her tone carried tones of disgust. Confed knew the Abbai still were not in favour of offensive action but soon that would have to change. The Drakh, although beaten back, were still out there, and sooner or later they would come back. And the ISA needed every race--every race--to combat the Drakh threat

"There is a Drakh war base situated near the orbit of the third planet" Confed reported "as well as several OSATs of an unknown number. There are also six cruisers, one carrier and forty-two attack ships. Our mission is to draw the cruisers and attack ships away from the base, and then take them out. Once that is done, we move onto the Drakh base itself"

"The conditions of victory?" a rasping voice said, and the attention drew to the old Hyach Elder at the head of the Hyach detachment. He commanded the Urutha Kal, the ship which would be the flagship of the second portion of the fleet"

"If we destroy the cruisers and attack ships, we win, as their offensive arm here would be taken out. However, if we lose the Warlock and Urutha Kal, we lose--they are, after all, the primary command ships"

The Hyach Elder mused for a second, then nodded

"If thats all, I suggest we start the encounter right--"

The com on Confed's hand beeped. Confed tapped it, and the voice of the second-in-command came over it.

"Yes, Commander?" Confed prompted

"Sir, there seems to be a bit of a problem" Commander Kelly reported. Her voice seemed a bit shaky.

"What is it?" Confed asked

"Um, I don't know how to say this, sir..." Kelly's voice was guarded. Confed knew that she used that tone when she thought he might think she'd been drinking on duty, and he sighed

"Out with it"

"We're back in the Solar system, sir"


	2. Chapter 2

The assembled captains looked astonished, and Confed's voice, when it eventually was working again, said "The Solar system?"

"Yes, sir" Kelly replied "As in the system with Earth in. The Solar system. The cradle of humanity"

"Okay, okay, I think I got the picture" Confed sighed "But how?"

Kelly hesitated "Well, I don't know. But there did seem to be an increase in local gravity by about .01, sir. We've just been running the computer logs"

"What do you think?" Confed asked of the rest of the captains

"I think I may know what happened" an Abbai captain replied "But first I think we need to make scans of the surrounding area"

Confed nodded "Yes, that seems wise. I think, first off, we must notify EarthForce HQ--"

The com beeped again. Confed tapped it, and Kelly's voice could be heard, but inaudible to the rest of the captains. Then Confed turned back, with an ashen face

"There is no EarthForce HQ" he said "No jump point at Io, no orbital defence grid, nothing"

The chatter in the room rose, until Confed managed to get everyone calmed down--but the news that the homesystem of one of the major ISA partners had suddenly become as quiet as the proverbial dormouse wasn't the sort of news that calm could really be recovered from.

"It seems like as if we're going to have to do something a little more comphrehensive than take scans" Confed said

* * *

One week later

A hyperspace portal opened up, in the vast darkness of space between Neptune and Pluto. Out of it emerged eight vessels--a Lakara, an Irokai Kam, a Tachila Kor, a Skiatha and four Tethys Kappas. As the hyperspace portal closed, the vessels went to half power on engines, to rendezvous with the main fleet, orbiting silently around Triton, Neptunes largest moon

They had worrying news

* * *

"Are you _sure_" Confed asked the Hyach in charge of the expeditionary fleet that had left the Solar system"

"Yes, absolutely sure" the Hyach said. He was the de facto second in command of the Hyach fleet, being the second eldest, and he commanded one of the Irokai Kams "There are no human vessels or colonies in Sirius, Proxima or Wolf"

"That is worrying news" Confed said, but the Elder held up a hand, for he wasn't finished yet

"But not as worrying as the other news we have" he said, and a tight feeling gripped Mort Confed's stomach as the Elder went on

"We took some scans of the systems, and couldn't find a match for systems in 2275" he said, and his eyes narrowed "but all four systems we have scouted correspond exactly to the time period 2076"

"What exactly does that mean?" Confed said, knowing the answer even as he asked the question, and the Elder nodded

"It means that we have travelled back in time almost two hundred years"


	3. Chapter 3

Place: Sol system  
Date: 21st March 2076

The captains of the ISA battlegroup all arrived in the briefing room on-board the Warlock-class destroyer _Alliance_. A day had passed since the news that they were not in their own time anymore had arrived, and even the captains were worried. What the crews must be feeling like was not something Captain Mort Confed, the now ranking ISA officer anywhere, wanted to comprehend.

The last captain, of the Tethys-class _T-K 1007_, walked into the room, and sat down. As he did so, Mort Confed stood up.

"As you may know, we have a slight problem on our hands" he said, and the ripple of laughter that followed a really good contender for the understatement of the century seemed to ease the tension "We have been displaced in space and time, as a result of which we are now in the Sol system, and the date is 2076.  
"With the help of the Abbai and Hyach historical files, we know quite a few things, which might help us to understand the time we have now just been thrust into"

Here, he held up his index finger.

"One, the Centauri Republic have finished a war with the Orieni Empire over 60 years ago. They are now exhausted, and from when there were over a hundred systems, the Centauri Republic is shrinking rapidly in size" a second finger joined the first "Two, the future League races are either throwing off the shackles of enslavement, or in the case of the Hyach and Abbai, are downsizing. It is also about this time that the Drazi are starting to expand to almost double their size--been given Tithalis by the Hyach and taking some of the systems that once were controlled by the Centauri. The Grome and Hurr are also beginning to come out of the shell, so to speak, but the Centauri still are close  
"Three, the Narn Regime does not exist. It is still under the control of the Centauri. However, great unrest in the area is destabilising their hold over Narn and the future colonies that will belong, sooner or later, to the Narn Regime. And fourth, the Minbari Federation is entering a period of isolation. In other words, this is a very dangerous time. The Centauri and Orieni War has created a vast power vacuum, and into it will flow the Narns, the Brakiri, and dozens of other races...including us  
"At least, that is how the history goes" Mort finished, and looked at the others "At this moment in time we have four courses of action. One: we leave this area of space, and never return. That way, our impact on the course of history will be minimised. Two: we go towards the League and try to form them into a more cohesive unit, ready for when the Dilgar and the Shadows come" a hiss emerged from some of the human officers, for the Dilgar War was when the EA reached its height...only to fall to its nadir a couple of years later, at the hands of the Minbari "Three: we each go our seperate ways--the Abbai to the Matriarchy, the Hyach to the Gerontocracy, and us to Earth, and try to help out our own races. Or four: we stay here and help shape the Earth Alliance to deal with the Dilgar and the Shadows"

An Abbai captain was the first one to talk "I think we should try and contact the League"

"_Why?_" another Abbai argued "The League was highly disorganised--even with our help, do you think such races as the Brakiri will even listen to us?" she threw her hands up "The best thing to do is to try and bring the EA into the galactic community"

"Nonsense!" a Hyach elder barked "No matter what we try to do, the same things will happen. The Dilgar are--were--demons" he corrected himself "and nothing we will do will stop them from causing death and destruction to the League--or the Drazi!"

"So you think we should just leave alone. Is that what you're saying?" a human asked, and the Hyach nodded

"Exactly. Our interference will not help in any way--don't you think I wish it could?--so we should leave, now!"

"No!" another human said "The Earth Alliance will help us all defend ourselves. If we make sure we never make the mistakes we did--such as attacking the Minbari and allowing that xenophobe Clarke gain power--we can help defeat the Shadows when the time comes"

_Then_ the room descended into chaos. Mort Confed looked dismally on as what had seemed to him to be a strong cohesive alliance fall back into bickering. Now he knew how Sheriden felt when trying to beat the League into shape!

"Silence!" he screamed. And amazingly, everyone became quiet. Mort looked like death incarnate as he stood up, flexing his hands like a man possessed.

"You--_all of you_--ought to be ashamed of yourselves" he thundered on "The Interstellar Alliance was forged to ensure that all races worked together, and for the last ten years we have done just that. Now, as soon as the ISA is no longer there, you want to fight each other again. You're as bad as the Drazi! All you want to do is run back to your own worlds, or run off, just because that the thought of being able to change the world scares you. Doesn't it?" he glowered at them "Well, it scares the hell out of me. But I know what we should do. We should help create a new Interstellar Alliance, this time not based on the Shadow War, but this time an Interstellar Alliance that will stand firm against the Dilgar and against the Narns, the Centauri, yes, even the Shadows! We should stay here, and forge the Earth Alliance into a force capable of defeating the darkness"

Everyone was stunned. There wasn't another word for it

"Now, even though I could order us to stay here and help Earth, I won't. And even though trying to impose a democratic form of government into the military is doomed to failure, we will try it. We will all vote on what we should do. Whatever the decision, we will follow it to the letter"

* * *

"Thats odd" said Mendel

"Whats that?" his friend, Larrison, replied

"I've just seen a faint blue dot appear" he said, and Larrison snorted

"Don't be daft! How can you?"

"Take a look for yourself" Mendel replied, and turned the laptop connected to the Earth Orbit Telescope around to face Larrison

"You see it?" he prompted Larrison, and Larrison was just about to reply when he stopped, and tapped a few keys. The magnification increased, and he gasped

"What is it?" Mendel prompted

"If Im not mistaken..." Larrison said "Some spaceships have just appeared out of that 'faint blue dot'"

Within ten minutes, shuttles had been deployed. To every single capital of the world, from London to Washington DC, from Beijing to Tokyo, a shuttle descended. And each shuttle carried with it three creatures...one human, one Abbai, and one Hyach


	4. Chapter 4

Place: Unknown  
Time: Unknown

A ship drifts through space. Once, ships of this type were seen all over the galaxy. Now, no more. But this ship, and their inhabitants, neither knew nor cared about their retirement from the galactic scene. All that mattered now was that their mission had been completed.

Without a trace, the ship disappears.

* * *

Place: Sol System (Mars)  
Time: March 21st, 2087

"...and so, on the tenth anniversary of First Contact, a new event for history will take place--the day when the first shipyard of Phobos and Deimos are opened!" President Daniel Stratton announced. With that, the view changed to a space view, where the two moons, Phobos and Deimos, orbited the planet. As it did so, the Red Bolts, the premier Thunderbolt squadron and the showpiece of the New Earth Alliance, flew past the orbital camera.

A loud clapping and cheering rippled towards the stage where Daniel Stratton was standing. He waved to the 100,000-strong crowd that represented, even on Mars, only a fraction of the total population, then he moved off stage.

"So, whats the progress on the Proxima Colony?" Stratton asked.

"The colonists are getting stuck into it, sir. Terraforming has already begun, and is well on its way. And, as per Admiral Confed's orders, the 3rd Fleet has moved into position in case anyone does contact us. The arrival of the ISA battlegroup may have already altered the timeline drastically"

"Possibly, but I doubt it" Stratton said. When his aide looked at him incredulously, Stratton continued "Consider it. Mort Confed, as part of the explanation to us that he was really from the future, made predictions about the next four years--up until when the Pakistan-India war should have occured. All of those events were true. I don't think much of a change has happened. But when we make contact with the Markab, or the Centauri, then the timeline might change. However, just because Admiral Confed's predictions came true doesn't mean his version of the future will occur. He knows that and I know that, which was why we won't allow any colony to be un-protected" he paused "on that note, how is Sirius, Cooke and Wolf coming along?"

"Sirius is right on-schedule, sir. But Wolf is having a little difficulty. The Abbai say that there isn't that much water, so they're going to have to rely on domes until they can get the necessary comets to impact the colony. The Hyach are okay with Regula, apparently" here the aide smiled "They say they've found some Q-40"

"Excellent!" Stratton smiled. As they continued to walk along the corridor, he thought _I wonder what Mort Confed is doing now...

* * *

_

"How is the production of the Olympic-class light cruiser coming along?" Admiral Confed asked Rear-Admiral Wearing

"While our main aim is to get _Hyperion_ heavy cruisers and _Omega_ battlecruisers out into full-scale production within a couple of years, the _Olympic_ is in full production as we speak. Along with the _Avenger_-class command carrier, we can protect our colonies until the heavy units come into service"

Admiral Confed nodded. While the Earth Alliance had the technology to build Warlock-Gammas, the shipyards were still being rushed into production, and a fact of life was that smaller shipyards were easier to construct than larger shipyards. And, of course, he added to himself, lighter units would actually be more useful.

The designs in front of him were excellent, he noted. Abbai and Earth designers had come up with the interceptor-mark III, which incorporated some basic gravitic principles as well as advanced targetting arrays to increase the interception and damage potential. And the Hyach-designed, Earth-provided medium laser cannon was a marvel in itself. It was much more accurate and longer ranged, though suffering slightly in damage potential. And the spinal laser had been miniaturised even more to allow the _Olympic_-class to carry them. One spinal laser ran the length of the ship. Four improved medium laser cannons, in wide arcs covering the forward 240 degrees, gave an impressive weapon set. And, to back it up, four heavy long-range missile racks gave tactical flexibility. Defensively, four gravitic shields and the same number of interceptors gave the _Olympic_ a defensive ability matched by some nations heavy cruisers. But two things were lacking--integral fighter capacity and a jump drive, which was where the _Avengers_ came in. _Avengers_ bore no relation to their EarthForce carrier ancestors. Overlapping gravitic shields--eight in all--as well as twelve interceptors provided a defensive ability that would laugh off even a Minbari Sharlin, and nearly one hundred Thunderbolts allowed space supremacy in any system an _Avenger_ jumped into. With a tactical manual calling for one _Avenger_ for four _Olympics_, the _Olympic_s could each call twelve fighters for escort, while still allowing for forty-eight fighters for attacks or defending the _Avenger_.

"Good enough" he said "How are the _Colony_ star fortresses coming along?"

"The Earth one is coming on in leaps and bounds, but the Mars one is lagging behind"

"How surprising" Confed remarked drily, and the rest of the officers chuckled. A _Colony_ was a supreme defensive structure, combining Abbai and Hyach designs and adding Earth Alliance weaponry to it. Nothing short of a bloody-minded foe with mass drivers could hope to take it out, but the same thing which made it all but indestructible was also the same thing that meant a _Colony_ took over a year to build. No wonder the Mars construction crew wanted a breather...

"Well, send the construction teams a message saying I'll be there, personally, to see how things are progressing" he said, and the officers chuckled again. Admiral Confed, it was rumoured, had a secret hideout somewhere where he hid all the bodies of people unwise enough to drag their feet in front of him.

"Well, now thats over, is there anything else I need to know about?" A chorus on the lines of 'no sir' rippled back to him, and he nodded

"Dismissed"


End file.
